# EMPOWER-Cervical 1: cemiplimab versus chemotherapy in recurrent cervical cancer after platinum

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-empower-cervical-1-cemiplimab-nejm-2022/  
OnCo record `paper-empower-cervical-1-cemiplimab-nejm-2022` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The PD-1 antibody cemiplimab lengthened survival compared with single-agent chemotherapy in recurrent cervical cancer after platinum, regardless of PD-L1 expression, the first immunotherapy to show a survival benefit in this disease.

## Summary

Phase 3 trial of 608 patients with recurrent cervical cancer progressing after first-line platinum chemotherapy randomised to cemiplimab or investigator's choice single-agent chemotherapy, enrolled irrespective of PD-L1 status.

Median overall survival was 12.0 versus 8.5 months (hazard ratio 0.69) overall and 11.1 versus 8.8 months in squamous cell carcinoma; response was 16.4 versus 6.3 percent, and benefit was seen across PD-L1 levels.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Journal: New England Journal of Medicine
- Year: 2022
- DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2112187
- Authors: Tewari KS, Monk BJ, Vergote I, et al.
- Findings: Median overall survival 12.0 vs 8.5 months; hazard ratio 0.69.; Objective response 16.4 percent vs 6.3 percent.
- What it means: Cemiplimab is an option for second-line cervical cancer in patients who have not had immunotherapy, though most now receive pembrolizumab first line, moving cemiplimab later or out of sequence.
- Caveats: Patients were immunotherapy-naive; applicability after first-line pembrolizumab is unclear.

## Sources

- N Engl J Med 2022: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2112187
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35139273/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/recurrent-metastatic-cervical-cancer/)
- drugs: [Cemiplimab](https://onco.cc/drugs/cemiplimab/)
- trials: [EMPOWER-Cervical 1 / GOG-3016 / ENGOT-cx9](https://onco.cc/trials/empower-cervical-1/)
- journals: [New England Journal of Medicine](https://onco.cc/journals/nejm/)

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